A SCHOOL in special measures is on the road to improvement, according to education inspectors.

Radcliffe Primary School was judged to be “inadequate” by Ofsted in March last year amid concerns about pupils’ attainment, the teaching and leadership.

The Government has since decided it should become an academy, with Bury College expected to sponsor it from October.

A monitoring inspection, carried out by Ofsted last month, found the Coronation Road school was “making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures”.

Inspector, Eileen Mulgrew, found the quality of teaching had improved and teachers were planning ”interesting, exciting lessons which catch pupils’ imagination and attention”.

Procedures for checking on pupils’ progress were found to be “more rigorous” and they were assessed each half-term in reading, writing and maths.

While key stage two results for Year Six pupils in 2012 were below the average in English and were average in maths, it was a “marked improvement” from the 2011 results.

Attainment was highest in reading, particularly in Years Four, Five and Six, and was rising in writing.

Pupils behaved “very well” and said there was no bullying at the school. The inspector found the children were proud of their school and had “very positive relationships” with both adults and fellow pupils.